HOW DO I KNOW GOD LOVES ME

HOW DO I KNOW GOD LOVES ME

I wish all my bills were paid. Another would say I wish my taxes were done… It’s a little late! I wish I could get a new job. I wish I could get married. I wish I were out of the marriage I’m in. I wish… the pain would stop.

If you were to ask Paul, the Apostle Paul, “What is your favorite wish?” He’d say, “I want to know Christ.”

Why would anybody say that? Because he obviously knew something we don’t know.

Most of your problems in life come from not understanding how much God loves you. It causes worry. It causes shame. It causes fear. It causes guilt. It causes insecurity. You need to know how much God really loves you. How do I know? How do I know for sure?

God loves you more than you’ll ever know.

1. How do I know God loves me? I know God loves me because He made me.

Psalm 145:17 “The Lord is loving toward some He has made…” no, that’s not what it says. What does it say? All! Circle “All” God made you to love you and God doesn’t play any favorites. He loves you. God has never made a person He didn’t love. He’s never made a person He didn’t love. He made you so He loves you. Psalm 103:13-14. “God is like a Father, tender and sympathetic. He knows that we are but dust.”

Circle “Father”. It doesn’t say God is a judge. It doesn’t say God is a policeman. It doesn’t say God is a drill sergeant. It doesn’t say God is a boss. It says God is like a perfect Father. And He cares about us. We were created to have a family relationship. Not a religion, but a relationship.

How many of you are parents? How many of you really thought before you had kids that your kids were going to be perfect? Rude awakening, right? When God created you, He already knew every sin you’d commit. He already knew every stupid decision you’d make. He already knew every dumb thing you’d do. Every hurtful thing. Every hateful thing. And He still made you.

We make kids, as parents, because we love them. When you think about it kids are messy. Babies? They burp! They mess their pants. They drool. They break things. When they get older, they take our money. They use our cars. They smash them. They get in trouble. But we till love them. What is it? Are we crazy? No. We’re parents.

God put in us a capacity to love. When you love you want to create something to love. God, the Bible says is love. It doesn’t say, Love is God. That’s not the same. God is love but love is not God.

The Bible says that you were made to be loved by God. God knew every stupid thing you were going to do in advance and He still said, I’m going to make them because I love them. You want to know why you’re here on the earth. You were made as an object of God’s love. God is full of love. He said, I’m going to create people that I can have a relationship with.

2. I know that God loves me not only because He made me but because He notices every detail of my life.

Matthew 10:30 “God knows how many hairs are on your head.” God is interested in every little detail of your life. He loves you completely and He’s interested in every part.

I used to think God was only interested in me when I went to church or when I read my Bible or did something spiritual. No. God is infinitely interested in every detail of your life. He’s interested when you’re happy and when you’re sad. He’s interested when you make a sale and when you fail to make a sale. He’s interested when you succeed and when you don’t succeed. He’s interested when you’re down, when you’re depressed, when you’re discouraged. He’s interested in the hobbies you’re interested in. Why? Because He made you.

As a parent, I’m intensely interested in my kids. Why? Because I’m interested in the details of their lives. When you’re interested in details it shows you love.

Why is it important to notice details? Because if you care you’ll be aware.

God is always aware of every detail of your life. Why? Because He always cares about every detail of your life. He made you. He notices every detail.

Some of you are going through tough times right now. Whatever that tough time is no matter what you’re going through, God is acutely aware of it. He cares about that financial problem. That sexual problem. That physical problem. That mental problem. That social problem. That problem at work. That problem in your marriage. That problem at school. He cares and He is aware. Because He loves you.

3. I know God loves me because He gave me the capacity for pleasure.

I need to explain this. God gave you a set of eyes when He made you, then He filled the world with color. Why? Just for your pleasure. What’s the purpose of color? Pleasure. Some are pleasing to you. Some aren’t. God could have made the whole world to look like Chicago. Grey, gloomy! But instead He made this beautiful world with canyons and vistas and sunrises and sunsets. What’s the purpose of all of that? God just created it for your pleasure. He created you for the capacity for pleasure. God gave you a pair of ears. Then He created a world full of many different kinds of sounds that are pleasing to the ear. We call it music. He could have made everything just one sound – that you could only hear one sound like some animals. But instead He gave you all of these sounds and the ability to hear them. Why? He wanted you to have pleasure.

God even created in you taste buds. And He filled the world with flavor. Like cinnamon rolls. And salsa. And barbecued ribs. Homemade ice cream.

Why? God could have made us like cars and we just run on fuel. Like God said, “Humans are going to run on oatmeal.” But He didn’t. He created you with taste buds and then gave all these flavors. Why? Because He enjoys watching you enjoy life.

1 Timothy 6:17 “God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” Circle “enjoyment.” That verse right there ¬¬explodes one of the greatest myths abut Christianity. I heard this a thousand times: “If I commit my life to Jesus Christ, life is going to miserable. I’m going to lose all my fun. It’s going to be boring if I really live for God.”

The problem is most people are looking for fun in all the wrong places. I consider the most miserable place in the world to be a singles bar. All these people pretending that they’re happy. And they’re miserable. Think about this. Where else in society do you walk up to a total stranger and offer to buy them something? Think about that. You’re in a singles bar – “You want a drink?” Suppose you’re in Sears – “Can I buy you a toaster? … Care for a refrigerator?” Where do you do that kind of stupidity? Looking for fun in all the wrong places. I didn’t know what fun was until I discovered the reason God made me and began living the plan He had for me. Since then, life has been enjoyable.

The Bible says that when you get into God’s plan for your life then life makes sense. Then you stop looking for cheap thrills to turn you on.

Jesus spoke more about happiness than He did about heaven. Did you know that? He did. He loves me so He created me with the capacity for pleasure.

4. I know God loves me because He has good plans for my life.

God always wants the best for your life. God says, “I have good plans for you. Not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a future.” Good plans. God knows what will make you happy more than you do. He ought to know. He’s the creator. Check the owner’s manual. The problem is what we think will make us happy is often different from what God knows will make us happy. We foolishly follow our own instincts rather than what God says and we get into all kinds of problems like worry and guilt and fear and bitterness and resentment and depression and discouragement and insecurity and all of those things. Trust Him. He has a good plan for your life.

You matter to God. He made you for a purpose. Even a thousand years ago He knew you’d be sitting here in this Marriott Hotle just to get your attention long enough so He could say to you, “You matter to Me. You really do. I didn’t just make you by accident. I have a plan and a purpose and you’ve been missing it. Then you wonder why things don’t work out. You’re not following the way I made you to follow.” He has a good plan for your life. You’re not created by accident.

Jesus said, “I have come that you might have…” religion. No, “I have come that you might have life. Life in all its fullness.” Jesus didn’t come to give a religion. He came to give a relationship to God. So you can get to know God. That’s what we celebrate on Easter. God came to earth in the form of a human being and He gave Himself for you. So you can get to know God. Until you follow God’s plan you’re not living, you’re just existing. You get up in the morning, go to work, come home, go to bed – watch TV in the evenings, go to parties on the weekends. You think you’re living. You’re not living. You’re just existing. You’re not living until you know God’s plan for your life.

5. I know God loves me because He sent Christ to die for me.

This is the ultimate proof of God’s love. It’s why we celebrate Easter. God had a purpose and a plan. Romans 5:8 says this “God proves His love for us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” Christ died for us it says. He cares about us. The ultimate proof.

I don’t know how many people you know who would die for you. I don’t know many people who would die for me. The Bible says that even when we didn’t even know God, while we rejected God, God sent His Son to pay our rap. To pay the penalty. All the things I’ve done wrong God says they’ve already been paid for. When you go to heaven and you stand before God and He says, “Why should I let you in?” You either say, “I paid for all my sins.” Which you don’t have enough credit to do. Or “I accept what Jesus did for my sins. I accept His payment.” That’s plan B. Because you don’t stand a chance on plan A.

Christ came to die for us. If you’ve ever asked Jesus Christ, “Jesus Christ, how much do You love me?” He’d say, “I love you this much. I love you so much it hurts.” That is the ultimate expression of God’s love. That’s what Easter is all about. Because of that…

6. I know God loves me because He forgives me when I ask Him.

I’ve discovered that the number one reason people don’t get to know God is one simple thing – guilt. Remember when you were in school. You didn’t like to get to know people who you didn’t think liked you. So you’d stay away from those people. A lot of people stay away from God because they think God doesn’t like them because they know they’re guilty. But God says I will forgive you.

Maybe you’ve felt, “I can’t have a relationship with God because of all the things I’ve done wrong.” You’re wrong. Maybe you’ve thought, “I could never be forgiven.” You’re wrong.

“Yes, all have sinned [how many would agree with that part of the verse. That’s easy. I’ve never met anybody in my life who said they’re perfect. I don’t measure up to my own standards much less God’s standards. So I don’t have any problem with that first part. I’ve blown it. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve sinned. So have you.] All have sinned but God declares us not guilty if we trust in Jesus Christ who freely takes away our sins.”

Let me ask you. What’s keeping you from a close relationship to God? Some of you were close to God in the past but you’ve kind of drifted away. You feel like I’m not close to God any more. Why not this Easter, come on home to Him? You say, with all the things I’ve done wrong, what’s God going to say to me? “With deep love I will take you back.”

Jesus told the story one time about the prodigal son. A man had a son who blew it. He took all his dad’s earnings and left. The father loved him while he was at home. The father loved him after he left. The father loved him while he was blowing it, his whole life, spending the inheritance. The father loved him when he came back home.

There has never been a time in your life when God stopped loving you. He’s never loved you any more than he does right now. He’s never loved you any less. Because His love is not based on your performance. It’s based on the fact that God is love. Come home to Him. He says, “With deep love I will take you back.” I have a plan. I have a purpose. I have a goal for your life.

If I had an Easter wish this year, if people said, “Robert, what’s your Easter wish?” my wish would be that you would understand how much God really loves you. Notice this verse “I pray that you would be able to feel and understand how long, how wide, how deep and how high His love really is and experience this love for yourselves

What does that mean?

God’s love is wide enough to include everybody. I don’t care who you are. I don’t care what you’ve done. God loves you.

It’s long enough to last forever. You know the problem with human love? Human love dies. It runs out. Human love can dry up.

God’s love is high enough to be everywhere. You’ll never go anywhere that God doesn’t go with you. You’ll never be separated from His love if you accept it.

It’s deep enough to meet your needs. When you’re in deep despair God’s love is deeper. Some of you are in the pits right now. You’re in financial pits. Some of you are in the emotional pits. You’re in relational pits. Some of you are waiting for test results to come back. Some of you are scared to death you’re going to go bankrupt. Some of you are fighting in your home right now. You need God’s love through Christ in your life. He can make a difference.

These four dimensions – high and wide and long and deep. They’re simply the four dimensions of the cross. That’s what God’s love is all about. The ultimate expression is the cross.

How do I establish a relationship to God? How to establish a spiritual BASE for my life. All of us came here to Easter service for different reasons. Some of you came because it’s the thing to do. On Easter you go to church. Some of you came because you come all the time. Some of you came because a friend invited you. Some came because you wanted to hear some music.
I don’t care why you think you came this morning. You’re not here by accident. Years before you were even born God knew that you would be here sitting on this wet pavement so He could get your attention and say, “I love you. I sent My Son, Jesus Christ, for you. I have a plan for you. If you’ll just let Me into your life and be the director things are going to make so much more sense. I want to have a relationship with you,” says God. Not a religion.

How do you get that relationship? Jesus made it so simple nobody could say it was too hard to understand. Even a kid can understand this. BASE. How to establish a spiritual base. How do you do that?

B – I Believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for me and showed He was God by coming back to life. About a billion people around the world will celebrate that today.

A – I Accept God’s free forgiveness for my sin. I say, God I admit. I’ve blown it. Please forgive me. And I accept His forgiveness.

S – I Switch to God’s plan for my life. God, from now on I want to do what You want me to do. Not what I want to do.

E – I Express my desire for Christ to be the director of my life.

If you are willing to do that, you can make that decision right now.

Prayer:

You don’t have to close your eyes. Look at the prayer on that page. With your head bowed and your eyes open, if you’re willing to take these four steps then I want you to just pray this prayer in your heart. You don’t have to say it aloud. God will hear you. He knows what you’re thinking. Just follow me in this and say it in your mind.

Dear God, I believe You sent Your Son, Jesus, to die for my sins so I can be forgiven. I’m sorry for my sin. I want to live the rest of my life the way You want me to. Please put Your Spirit in my life to direct me. Amen.